Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been at the center of the immigration debate and continually at odds with President Donald Trump's desire to secure the southern border. What's interesting is, back in 2009, Schumer admitted that policies like Trump's are good for the nation.
Our position has been clear from the beginning: Ds & Rs have a months-old agreement in the Senate. $1.6B for border security, NOT a concrete wall or increases in detention beds or ICE agents. We should stick to this agreement. If POTUS interferes, he is responsible for a shutdown
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 28, 2018
Mr. President, you’re not getting the votes for the wall in the Senate. Take our solution to prevent a shutdown and move on. We have lots of other important issues to tackle now, incl protecting people’s health care and pre-existing condition protections.https://t.co/UoSw4qre7r
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 15, 2018
Schumer addressed the 6th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University in 2009. In his message, he said a number of things that contradict his current outlook on illegal immigration and border security.
"The first of these seven principles is that illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple. When we use phrases like 'undocumented workers,' we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration, which the American people overwhelmingly oppose," Schumer explained.
"People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the United States legally," Schumer said. "Any immigration solution must recognize that we must do as much as we can to gain operational control of our borders as soon as possible."
So wait. It's important to gain control of our borders, like Schumer admits, but that control can't include border walls?
Oh, that's right. It's only the case because President Donald Trump is trying to accomplish it.
In that same address Schumer said border wall fencing had a significant impact.
"The American people need to know that, because of our efforts in Congress, our border is far more secure today than it was when we began debating comprehensive immigration reform in 2005," Schumer stated. "Between 2005 and 2009, a vast amount of progress has been made on our borders and ports of entry. This progress includes ... construction of 630 miles of border fence that create a significant barrier to illegal immigration on our southern land border."
The Daily Wire's Ryan Saavedra shared the footage on Twitter:
Chuck Schumer in 2009:
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 28, 2018
-Americans don't like illegal immigration
-"Illegal immigration is wrong"
-People illegally in the U.S. are "illegal aliens," not "undocumented"
-Border fence made the southern border "far more secure...created a significant barrier to illegal immigration" pic.twitter.com/zoVyEgdrTC
Chuck Schumer just a few years ago was calling illegal aliens "criminals," saying that if someone cared "about America" then they would want "fewer illegal immigrants" pic.twitter.com/jZyohx6lnz
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 28, 2018
Isn't it interesting how things change depending on which party is in political power and what president sits in the White House?
If Schumer truly had a vested interest in America's security, he would push for tighter immigration laws and a border wall. He would take a stand against his Democratic colleagues if it meant keeping his constituents safe. But then again, we're talking about a man who despises President Trump so much that he's more than willing to sacrifice our safety than admitting the man he disagrees with is right.